Why Civil War will be different from other Marvel movies

According to rumor (and possibly the comic book storyline I haven’t read), Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, will face off against Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America, in the third Captain America installment titled Captain America: Civil War. I generally try to stay away from anything that would reveal plot points of films that I want to see because I want to be surprised at the movies. However, it has been hard to get away from all things Marvel as the company has pretty much dominated box office and storytelling with few films or series able to compare. Also, I like Iron Man, and I like Stark’s character as portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. I don’t want to think about him as a bad guy because that is where his character arc comes from. When the movie audience first meets Stark, he is an arrogant, grade-A, number one A—hole. He cares about money, enjoyment and power and not much else. He goes around selling weapons as if it were a great occupation and the fact that the weapons killed people had no effect on him. He was a businessman, genius and he was going to make all of the money that he could. None of those characteristics have actually changed. Stark is still an arrogant bastard, who doesn’t play well with others. The difference is that he has decided that he needs to give back to the planet somehow – witness Stark Tower becoming a green building through the use of Stark technology. So Stark has harnessed his characteristics to become a hero, but those same characteristics can make for a great anti-hero. The people that help keep Stark from making terrible decisions are Pepper Potts and, to a lesser extent, Happy. If Potts is killed off or otherwise disappears from Stark’s life, especially through the actions of a fellow team member, Stark will have no one to appeal to his better side. He will become lost in grief, revenge, arrogance and genius. Perhaps the scariest part is that Stark will believe that what he is doing is absolutely the correct thing to do. He will be righteous in his decision, which he will have made with flawless logic. He will find a way to exert control and influence on a situation that would otherwise have none, and then he will work toward implementing the system that keeps all superheroes under observation and control. His arc from bad guy to good guy to anti-hero will be complete with the move to Civil War. And it makes sense for it to do so. Marvel has already laid the ground work. There is plenty of tension between Stark and Rogers, and shawarma and the first apocalypse cannot change the fundamental differences between the two. With Captain America questioning his role in America and American politics, the situation is ripe for the two to clash – honor-bound patriot who loves a country that hasn’t been seen in 50 years versus billionaire capitalist without a moral compass to guide him. The thing that will make this movie different from other Marvel films is that the audience may be privy to a two character arc featuring the growth of both Iron Man and Captain America. Marvel has the chops to pull this type of story off, and it will be a film worth watching all the more if they make it so. Seeing the hero and the anti-hero arcs will be super exciting for people who like good stories.